[NFB-Talk] Addressing Open House Concerns

[Shannon Cook]

It sounds like you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make this
meeting an all or nothing proposition.  I am not saying this to be critical,
but to encourage you to take a little of the pressure off.  Think of this as
a meeting where you are cranking up the car on a cold winter day.  It will
take a little while for the car to heat up, but it will be a good start.
Like David Andrew said, provide food.  Have a short program, but leave time
to give people a chance to reconnect or meet for the first time.  The
Personal connections will be what brings people back to  the organization,
so let them mingle.  Also, let people know that masks and plenty of hand
sanitizer will be available for anyone who may be apprehensive about
getting out in a larger group Setting.  We are reorganizing some chapters in
our state and enlisting the help of our state's Talking Books Service.  You
could do that too and ask them to distribute letters about the meeting to
their patrons in those counties or ZIP codes.  That way, they are not
vilating privacy, and your chapter may find lots of new members.  Lastly, I
would suggest having something they can take with them that has the contact
info, meeting time, etc. for the next meeting.  

 

I hope this helps.

 

Shannon Cook

Member, National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina

The greatest investment you can make in this world is kindness.

 

From: NFB-Talk <nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tina Hansen via
nFB-Talk
Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2023 10:00 PM
To: 'NFB Talk Mailing List' <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Tina Hansen <th404 at comcast.net>
Subject: [NFB-Talk] Addressing Open House Concerns

 

First off, thank you to the person who sent me the link to our page on
building membership. That might get us started.

 

But I also just want to express a few observations.

 

I can understand the pandemic has turned everything upside down, and that
some people still don't feel safe going out.

 

Ever since our attempts 3 weeks ago, I've been wrestling with this. It seems
that on my own, I feel I can't find ways to find a middle ground. Here's
what I'm thinking.

 

First off is the tension I feel with information versus entertainment.
There's so much one can say about our organization, but how much are people
willing to take? If we focus too much on presenters only, there's a chance
of people getting restless. Yet if we go to the other extreme and just do
activities, some will wonder what the point is.

 

Another tug of war I feel is based on how long our segments should be. It
seems that our sound bite world likes everything in 10-second segments, but
that doesn't allow for any substance.

 

I also feel a tension about offering gimmicks or artificially having to prop
up everything versus just doing this solely based on internal motivations.
Gimmicks or incentives might create false expectations if we depend on them,
so I'd like to start with something and then move past that.

 

I understand this is true all over the country.

 

I feel like we're running into the proverbial chicken and egg problem. To
get a lot done, we need to build up our chapter, but we can't do a lot with
just one or two people.

 

In short, it seems we may need to start from scratch.

 

So does anyone have any thoughts on my observations or suggestions on how to
either live with these tensions or get past them? Thanks.

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